Philippines Clobbers England; Torre Stands Tall... London Bridge Collapses
By Marlon Bernardino
PhilBoxing.com
Thu, 06 Sep 2012
Eugene Torre.
PHILIPPINES FACES CHINA IN TODAY'S 9TH ROUND.
Team Standings after Round 8: (Match Points Scoring System)
15 points---Russian Federation
13 points---China, Armenia, USA, Germany, Philippines
Round 9 parings:
Board 1 United States of America vs Russian Federation
Board 2 Philippines vs China
Board 3 Armenia vs Germany
Manila---FOR the first time since we started joining the Chess Olympiad in 1956, we have a splendid chance to be among the top 3 going into the last three rounds. This after the gritty Philippine men's team crushed 11th seed England, 3-1, in the 40th World Chess Olympiad.
Asia's First Grandmaster Eugene Torre and Grandmaster Oliver Barbosa toppled their respective rivals to stay on course for the coveted gold medal in the 8th round Thursday morning (Manila Time) at the WOW Convention Center in Istanbul, Turkey.
The brand new grandfather Torre and a certified senior citizen from Iloilo City, appearing in a record 21st Olympiad, deftly handled the black pieces in their Nimzo-Indian encounter and forced Short to resign after trapping the latter?s bishop on the 41st move. Short, ranked 49th in the world among active players with Elo 2698, is the same player who challenged Garry Kasparov for the World Chess Championship in 1993.
His heroics in the previous round also allowed the 35th seed Philippines to salvage a 2-2 draw opposite fourth seed Hungary.
The Taytay, Rizal native Barbosa, on the other hand, the hero of the sixth round contest, rebounded from a loss in the seventh round with a marathon 102-move victory over GM Gawain Jones.
Grandmasters Wesley So and Mark Paragua also did their share by holding their opponents to a standoff.
So, the country?s top player, held his ground against GM Michael Adams and forced a draw after 51 moves of Caro-Kann while Paragua split the point with GM Nicholas Pert after 37 moves of Queen?s Pawn Game.
With its 13th match point, the Philippines shared a piece of second place with USA, China, Germany and fourth round tormentor Armenia. The Russian Federation remained on top with 15 match points.
GM Sergey Karjakin took the scalp of GM Andrei Volokitin to set the tone for the Russian Federation a narrow's 2.5-1.5 win against defending champion Ukraine.
In other results, Armenia routed Uzbekistan, 3-1, USA dealt FYROM, 3-1, Germany edged Hungary, 2.5-1.5, and China drew with Azerbaijan, 2-2.
But while the men?s team continued to flourish in its drive to improve from its worst 50th place finish two years ago in Khanty, Mansiyk, Russia, the ladies squad faltered, absorbing a 0.5-3.5, defeat at the hands of the 5th seeded United States.
Woman National Master Janelle Mae Frayna split the point with IM Rusudan Goletiano on board 3 to prevent a shut-out loss for the Pinay woodpushers.
The defeat dropped the Phl ladies from top 10 to joint 23rd with ten points.
In the ninth round, the men?s team will meet China while the women?s team goes up against 10th seed Romania, who blasted 8th seed Armenia, 3-1.
National Chess Federation of the Philippines (NCFP) Chairman/President Prospero "Butch" Pichay Jr., is very confident that the Filipinos will give a good fight against the Chinese.
"We will definitely give a good fight," said Pichay, who watched the game live through Internet back home in Manila.
Meanwhile, Bayan Muna Representative and National Chess Federation of the Philippines (NCFP) Vice-President Neri Colmenares expressed elation over the victories of the Philippine Chess team currently playing in the World Olympiad in Istanbul, Turkey and calls for more government support for chess. ?We congratulate our chess team for its outstanding performance. Being thrust into the main attraction in the Olympiad by playing on the top three main tables for the first time since we joined the Olympiad, specifically the Third Main Board in an Olympiad where 158 countries play on 79 Boards, is a historic feat indeed?the highest board ranking we have ever achieved? said Colmenares.
?Defeating world chess powers like Bulgaria with their super GMs is another historic milestone for our men?s chess team, never before achieved. The team of Grandmasters So, Paragua, Barbosa, Torre and even International Master Dimakiling headed by NCFP President Butch Pichay have been to a place where no Filipino chess teams have ever been. Their victories are exhilaratingly ecstatic for the Filipino people? said Colmenares who, as the Chess Champion of Western Visayas, placed second in the 1976 Palarong Pambansa.
?Our women?s chess team should also be commended. Although they lost four matches so far, they have won all their other games and also achieved the highest board ranking ever by a Philippine women?s team. Many countries find it difficult to barge into the top twenty of the Olympiad after the USSR broke up into many chess playing countries in the 80?s. Now, our men?s team is ranked 2nd to 6th place in the current standings. ? said Colmenares who was recently elected to the NCFP National Board. ?Whatever happens after these matches, both our teams have done exceedingly well and we should be proud of them. We, do however wish they will continue to win their next matches and maintain their top ten standings until the finals.?
Colmenares, who started playing chess at the age of six and as Palarong Pambansa player strongly advocates for grassroots sports development, asked for more support from government for chess. ?Bayan Muna has been supportive of age group tournaments for players below 14 years old. But government has to step in. The dismal funding not just for the national chess federation but also the local federation is not encouraging. Pres. Noynoy Aquino, through the Philippine Sports Commission, should also budget much needed funds for chess and sports in general,? he concluded.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Marlon Bernardino.
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